The Wedding
by GundamWingFanatic90
Summary: Finally, the long awaited sequel to 'It'll Be Alright' is here! The time has come for Roy and Riza's wedding, certainly a joyous occasion. But what is Ed hiding? PG 13 for general reasons, a few mild curses, and for one really bad cuss word. EdxWin, Royai


Hey again, everyone. This is the GundamWingFanatic90, finally bringing you a sequel to 'It'll Be Alright'. I hope you like it, and I hope it satisfies some of you who have had questions and requests. On with the wedding- I mean, fic!

Disclaimer: Own FMA, I do not. Belongs to Funimation, it does! Wish I owned it, I do! Rich, I would be! Own the handsomest Alchemist in the world, I would! (Alas, only own a keychain of him, I do!)

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**Ed's POV**

I watched as Al and Winry wrestled Den to the ground, attempting to keep him from running away from the hose. The dog writhed horribly, and I barely managed to twist on the hose and soak him before he jumped to his feet- Automail included- and tried to bound away. However, we had had enough foresight to tie him on a leash and stake it into the ground, so he didn't get far before being pulled back with a yelp to fall onto the wet grass. Winry ran over to him and squirted some dog shampoo onto him, and then Al and I joined in lathering the rather large, black, and white dog's fur up into a whitish-brown foam. I wrinkled my nose.

"Phew, wet dog!" I yelped out, attracting Den's attention. I backed away, spotting an evil gleam in his eye, but before I could run, he had taken a leaping bound and tackled me to the ground, where he sprawled across my lower back, making an X-shaped crater in the grass with me. I found my temper rising, and before I could think about it, I started struggling wildly.

"**_GET OFF ME, ALEXANDER!_**" I shouted, and then realized what I had said. Suddenly reminded of Nina and her dog, I stopped struggling and lay there silently, feeling guilt again well up in my soul. Al was silent in contemplation, and Winry was quiet, as well, trying to pull Den off of my still form.

"Ed? Al?" she asked softly. I let out a dull, pained laugh.

"Sorry, Win." I said in reply to her unspoken question. "Just old… painful memories, that's all." I flashed her a grin and helped lift Den off of myself using my Automail, and then I got up, grabbing the hose and turning evilly to the black and white dog.

"Oh, Deeeeennn…" I sang tauntingly. Den's eyes took on a hint of fear, and he strained against his leash, trying to get away. He was unsuccessful, and soon found himself doused with icy water. Disgruntled, he shook it all off, appearing as a rather large ball of fluff when he was done, and leaving the rest of us covered with suds and water. I found a large, evil grin spreading across my face.

"Hey, Winry… Al…" Again, I had a singsong voice, as I gave them only a second's warning before squirting them with the hose.

"**_ED!_**" Their unified shout rang across the countryside of Resembool, and a second later, I was lying on the ground, drenched from head to toe, feeling more than a little dazed from the shock of the cold water hitting me in the hot summer air.

"Damn." I gasped out, just as two bodies hit the ground to either side of me.

"Aaal… Wiiinnnryyy…" I whined pathetically, but they just laughed.

"Hey, at least you're not full of suds anymore, right brother?" Al asked. I groaned in reply, earning a poke in the ribs from Winry.

"Stop your pouting!" she exclaimed. "You ought to be grateful that you aren't rolling in the mud right now!" I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Laughter echoed from either side of me, and surprisingly, from up on top of the hill, near the house, as well. I sat up, turning around and looking for the source of the sound, only to see one of the people I didn't want to see at all at the moment. Mustang.

"Colonel Mustang? What are you doing here?" Winry asked.

"We thought you were in Central!" Al exclaimed. They, of course, were happy to see the old Pill, though I was not. Winry, though seemed to have a little stiffness in her voice, and I wondered why for a second before I remembered that she knew what Mustang had done in Ishbal. What he had done to her parents. She was being cordial, though, and I decided to roll my eyes good-naturedly and drape my arms across Al's and Winry's shoulders.

"I'm guessing you forgot about the wedding, then?" Mustang asked, one black eyebrow lifted in amusement and curiosity. "Wow, I didn't think that Riza would've let you…" I stuck my tongue out at him, flipping him the bird over Al's left shoulder.

"Dry up, Captain Bastard." I said, deciding to be rude as always. "We didn't forget."

"We were just giving Den a bath before going to retrieve our outfits, that's all." Al offered. "He jumped in a mud puddle." A feminine voice entered the scene from around the side of the house.

"Oh, tell me about it." It was Riza. "Black Hayate did that the other day. Took all of us- excluding Breda- an hour to get him clean again." I raised an eyebrow.

"Even Mustang? I'd have thought that he'd be scared of water, after that one incident with Scar in the rain…" I said accusingly. Roy's forehead twitched, and he began to advance towards me menacingly, but Riza's hand on his arm stopped him, and he let it go with a huff.

"Well, Ed, Al, let's go dry off, and we can go into town and get your tuxedos!" Winry said. "I have to get some supplies for my newest project, anyway." Al and I rolled our eyes, and I unleashed Den before the five of us headed inside.

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I sighed in annoyance, allowing the tailor to take my measurements, holding my arm out to the side. We'd been in there for almost an hour already, and that was only for my tux. Imagine how long it'd take for Al's to get done…

"Young man, hold still!" the tailor ordered, and I glared at him.

"I'm trying, already! Gimme a break!" I exclaimed. He shot me a dirty look, and a second later, I felt a rather painful prick on the underside of my arm, causing me to yelp a bit and jump slightly.

_That old codger just stuck me with a pin!_ I fumed. _Well, I'll show him…_

"Hey, old man! You forgot a spot over here." I said, moving my arm to point at an open seam on my right arm. He shot me another nasty expression, and began to look over to sew it up. In a second, he blinked.

"Young man, that is supposed to be like that." he murmured, just as I poked him in the rear with a pin I nicked from the cushion to my left. He yelped a bit, clutching his wounded ass, and seethed at me, yellowed teeth showing magnificently. I looked at him blankly, feigning innocence.

"You okay? You look like you stuck yourself with one of your pins." I offered with deceptive, honeyed kindness in my voice. He glared at me, but went back to fixing my tux. He didn't stick me with a pin again.

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Two hours later, I was waiting outside a mechanics shop for Winry to finish her shopping. I looked around, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible, and then I glanced into the store's window. Winry had her back turned to me, perfect. I grinned, and then grabbed Al before dashing over to a nearby store, which I had dragged him to a few weeks earlier.

"Brother!" he exclaimed in surprise, but I whirled around and covered his mouth with my hand before he could attract my girlfriend's attention.

"Ssh, Al!" I ordered quietly. "I don't want to attract her attention, okay? Try to be as subtle as possible. I have to pick something up…" I glanced back over at the mechanics shop. "Just keep watch, I'll only be a moment." With that, I slipped into the store, leaving Al standing out on the sidewalk, hands in his pockets, keeping an eye on Winry's activities.

I returned a few moments later, slipping a small package into my coat pocket, and we crossed the street again, returning to our original positions and appearing as though nothing had happened.

"Brother?" Al asked after a few moments. I looked up at him- he was still taller than me, for the moment- and tilted my head to the side. His grey-brown eyes were stormy, belying an inner conflict about something.

"Yeah, Al?" I replied gently. He hesitated, and then shook his head.

"Never mind. It's nothing." he said, and I nodded with a sigh, closing my eyes and tilting my head downwards.

"It's all right, Al. When you're ready to tell us about it, we'll be there to listen." I said, putting a hand on his shoulder without looking up. He still hadn't told us what had happened after he revived me and was swallowed by the Gate, during the final showdown with Envy of the Homunculi, but we didn't push him for the story. He'd tell us when he was ready. "Take your time, Al. God knows we've got enough of it." I looked up at him with a grin. "And hey, even if you never share the story with us, we won't mind. It's the fact that you're with us now, in the flesh, that we really care about." He smiled gratefully down at me.

"Thanks, Ed." I shrugged.

"Hey, what are big brothers for?" We laughed as the shop's door opened with a ring of a bell, and Winry stepped out, arms laden with bags that she soon dropped into our hands to carry. Combined with our tuxedos, it was enough that we couldn't see where we were going. Let's just say that we had a 'fun' time getting back home.

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Al and I looked each other over once before nodding in satisfaction and heading downstairs, each decked out in our black and white tuxedos. Pinako was waiting for us at the front door, dressed in her finest- Winry had already gone over to help Riza get ready- and the three of us, along with Roy, walked out and got in the wagon before heading off to where the wedding would be taking place. We arrived after an uneventful, 20-minute-long ride.

The old church house was decked out in white and flowers, the pews and altar decorated in the traditional furnishings for a marriage ceremony. Even though I hadn't really believed in God since I lost my limbs, I couldn't help but feel a sacred, loving presence permeating the chapel. The overall atmosphere was warm, friendly, inviting, and I found my eyes drawn to the beautiful archway-trellis set up over the altar. All in all, it was enough to make me forget all of the troubles I had been through in my life, and just stare in awe around at the church that I had often been to in my youth.

"Pretty nice, ain't it?" Pinako asked from my left. I nodded.

"Yeah… I haven't been here since…" I trailed off, my voice becoming slightly choked with the memory.

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"_**The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want."**_

_Ed sat in the front pew next to Al, hands folded, heads bowed, and eyes downcast, their dark suits barely luminescent in the light from the lamps overhead. The casket in front of them gleamed dully, a dreary, depressing sight. No one had to ask them who lay inside it- one could tell from their eyes and devastated expressions that it was their only living relative, their mother, who lay inside the dark, foreboding coffin._

"_Al? Ed…?" a small, feminine voice asked from next to the blonde boy. "Are you alright?" It was Winry, their best friend._

"_**He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul…"** the priest recited in a dull monotone._

"_We'll be alright, Winry." Ed said. His voice was a deadly whisper, the grief, anger, and bitterness contained in it so heart-rending that it silenced the girl almost instantly._

"_**He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake…"**_

_The whole church was decked out in black, the color of mourning, as the memorial service continued._

"_**Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for You are with me…"**_

_Ed and Al stood a few feet away from a grey headstone, tears mixing with the rain as their suits were slowly, but surely, soaked through, watching the pallbearers lower the casket into the grave._

"…_**your rod and your staff, they comfort me…"**_

"_Ed?" Al's quiet voice reached his older brother's ears. "Ed, why'd she have to die?" Ed was silent, gazing down at the last they'd ever see of the wooden tomb._

"_I… don't know, Al." he said after a while. "I don't know."_

"_**You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."**_

"_Ed? Did they ever tell you what she died from?" Al whispered, breaking the long silence that had settled over them. Ed didn't reply right away, but when he did, his voice was soft, gentle, and choked with tears._

"_They said it was a hereditary disease of some sort… some new form of something called meningitis or other…"_

"_**Surely goodness and love shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever."**_

"_Oh." was all Al said, gazing down as they shoveled the last of the dirt onto the fresh grave._

"_**Amen."**_

_Trisha Elric_

_1910-1940_

_Loving mother, wife, and friend_

_May God hold you in His arms until the end of time._

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Blinking, I cleared my eyes of the haze that had fallen over them with reminiscence, and I forced myself to smile down at Pinako.

"But that's in the past." I said with false cheerfulness. "Let's let this experience be a good one." I was about to walk away to make sure Mustang wasn't making mischief, but a sudden, booming voice from above me made me jump, stopping me in my tracks.

"Well, if it isn't Edward Elric! A pleasure to see you again!" I turned slowly around, coming face to face with the jacket of a blue uniform and a towering figure.

"No…! Not you…!" I groaned, as the man in question saluted me and- I just now noticed- Mustang and Al, behind me.

"Major Alex Louis Armstrong, at your service, Fuhrer Mustang!" the man said, his mustache moving up and down with each word. I felt a vein in my forehead begin to throb as I turned to Mustang.

"_Fuhrer?_" I ground out. He just smiled at me arrogantly.

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"…do you, Roy Mustang, take Elizabeth Hawkeye to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part, so help you God?" the preacher asked in a monotone. I bit back a groan, fidgeting with my gloves behind my back. It was the same minister that had been at mom's funeral, the same monotone, the same dullness. It had been going on for an hour, already, a whole frickin' hour.

"I do." I heard Roy reply. I was sure that if he was here, Maes Hughes would be beaming, with tears streaming down his face at the sight of his best friend getting married. To be blunt, Hughes- and everyone else, including me, for that matter- had been waiting for a long time for Hawkeye and Mustang to finally tie the knot. Now that they finally were, Hughes was probably rolling in his grave with joy, being the overreacting person that he was.

"And do you, Elizabeth Hawkeye, take Roy Mustang to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part, so help you God?" the preacher asked again. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Of course they did, that's why they were here in the first place!

"I do." Riza announced proudly. She was grinning- something that I had rarely, if ever, seen her do- and as the minister said, 'I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride', I looked over at Winry. She was positively glowing with pride as Roy and Riza kissed, and I clapped politely, a smile on my face as my girlfriend's eyes met mine and the newlyweds parted and walked back down the aisle to much cheering, clapping, and the sound of church bells. Winry was crying.

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At the reception- that took place at the town's only inn, which, might I add, was quite small- I watched as Roy stood up and proposed a toast. Soundlessly I lifted my glass, missing the words he said, and, when he was done speaking, I politely took a sip of my wine, hesitating slightly before letting the red alcohol flow into my mouth. It was a sweet red wine, an 1875 Pink Catawba, if I had read correctly, and the tang that it brought with it onto my taste buds left me feeling contemplative. The first dance was called, but I didn't really notice, a strange, but familiar stiffness settling into my neck and distracting me from what was going on around me.

_Not now, please not now…_ I thought, waiting until everyone else was distracted by Roy and Riza's dancing- traditionally, the bride and groom took the first dance of the night- before rising to my feet and quietly slipping out into the hall. Shakiness settled into my limbs as I made my way to the Men's room and opened the door in time to grab onto the edge of the sink to keep from falling. Turning the tap for cold water, the clear liquid ran out in a steady stream, hissing a slight bit as it met with the porcelain of the sink, and I cupped my hands under it before splashing it onto my damp face. I was sweating with the effort of staying conscious. I repeated the process of splashing my face a couple more times, and then turned the water off, leaning heavily on the sink, my limbs still shaking.

_It's getting worse…_ I thought grimly. _Maybe I shouldn't… No. That would just hurt her, and Al…_ I stopped at the thought of my little brother- though he wasn't so little anymore- and drew a trembling breath, trying to steady myself. _Al… And Winry… I'm so sorry… But… how will I tell you… when the time comes for you to find out? Damnit…_ My bangs clung to my flushed cheeks as they paled considerably, my vision wavering in and out.

_"**They said it was a hereditary disease of some sort… some new form of something called meningitis or other…**"_

The words that I had spoken to Al all those years ago when he asked what mom had died from echoed in my head like a mantra, causing a dull ache to begin forming in my right temple.

"Damn it all…" I whispered, reaching for a nearby towel to dry my face with. "I can't tell them right now, or anytime soon. I can't tell them until it gets too serious to hide anymore. I don't want them to worry over me. I'm not a fucking cripple!" I blinked as my right hand made a dull clanging noise on the towel bar. Okay, so maybe my profanity-strewn statement wasn't exactly true… But hey, what the hell. I shook my head as the door opened, and who but Roy stepped inside, his face slightly red. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"…Mustang, you look like Riza gave you a hard time." I said mischievously. He rolled his eyes, and shook his head.

"No, no." he murmured, walking over and turning on the water to let it flow into the sink before doing the same thing I had done and splashing his face with the sparkling, clear liquid.

"Then what is it?" I asked. He shrugged as he turned the water off and grabbed a towel to dry his face with.

"It's really warm on that dance floor." he said. I grinned slyly at him.

"Are you sure that's all?" I asked cleverly. He shot me a dark look, absently flipping me off around the towel, and didn't answer my question, preferring instead to hang the cloth on the metal rack.

"So, why are you in here, Mr. I'm-too-knowledgeable-about-my-superior's-thoughts-for-my-own-good?" he countered at long last. I shrugged like he had, my thoughts turning down a dark road as I looked away from him. We were silent for a few moments.

"Ed? What is it?" For once, Roy's voice was sincere, maybe a little bit concerned.

"It's getting worse." was all I said. Then I walked out of the room, leaving him to decipher what I had said on his own. I was about halfway down the hall back to the reception room when his hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"Ed." he said flatly. I sighed, knowing what he was going to ask me.

"Listen, Captain Bastard, it's none of your concern." I said, brushing his hand off of my shoulder. "I'm gonna go outside for some fresh air. If Winry comes looking for me, tell her that that's where I am, alright? Enjoy your reception…" I walked away without waiting for a reply, without looking back. I didn't want anyone to see the dark expression on my face that gave everything away.

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It was a couple of hours later that Winry found me sitting on a bench in the garden behind the inn. I was gazing darkly at the earth beneath my shoes, contemplating too many things to recall what I had originally been thinking of. Nevertheless, I was not surprised when she sat down next to me with a sigh of relief before stretching her legs out in front of her. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, my mood brightening instantly and even causing a slight upturning of the corners of my lips.

"Been dancing a lot?" She looked over at me with an amused smile playing across her mouth.

"Yeah." She paused, and then considered me for a second. "I missed you out on the dance floor, you know." I returned my gaze to the ground.

"…I know." I hesitated, and then took a deep breath before rising to my feet.

"Winry, there's something I need to ask you." I said. She regarded me with confusion, her head tilted lightly to one side, and then I turned to her and went down to one knee in front of her.

"I know that there's usually a speech that comes with this kind of thing, but I don't think there's really anything I can say that you don't already know." I pulled a ring from my pocket, watching her eyes grow wide, and swallowed nervously. "Will you marry me, Winry Rockbell?" I soon found myself sitting on the grass that had formerly been beneath my feet, with the arms of the aforementioned Winry Rockbell flung around my neck.

"Yes! Yes, yes, a hundred times yes!" she was exclaiming into my ear. I smiled happily before returning her embrace.

When we returned home that night, Winry bore an engagement ring on her finger and a broad smile on her face.

_**END.**_

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Please ignore the crappy excuses for rulers that are made out of hyphens. The stupid website wouldn't let me insert proper ones. (growls)

Okay, I know for a fact that that's going to leave some questions for all o' ya, so I'm going to say this to you now: I am not going to answer any of them at the moment. I am working on yet another sequel to this one (the full-length feature won't be out any time soon, I'm afraid), but hopefully it'll tide you over the long wait until the final story. I might have the new one-shot out before February, with the rate at which I'm getting schoolwork nowadays. A word to the wise: don't try to take on 2 Social Studies courses in one semester. O.o Please read and review!

-Fanatic


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